The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denied a local media report that Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) had tendered his resignation at a time when the government is under pressure to address the issue of Taiwanese businesspeople affected by anti-China riots in Vietnam last week.
“The report is totally untrue,” ministry spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) said, adding that Lin was doing his best to deal with the issues related to the protests that have affected many Taiwanese businesspeople operating in Vietnam.
A report carried on the online version of the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) yesterday said that Lin had tendered his resignation in the face of the heavy pressure resulting from the mounting criticism of the ministry’s response to the riots, as well as the challenges of helping the Taiwanese affected by the unrest seek compensation from the Vietnamese government.
The report came after a Taiwanese delegation led by Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) arrived in Vietnam earlier in the day to assist Taiwanese businesspeople in the Southeast Asian country.
The group is set to visit the areas hardest-hit in the unrest, including Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, and meet with Taiwanese businesspeople to learn more about their needs.
The delegation is also to meet with Vietnamese authorities in Hanoi tomorrow.
A total of 224 Taiwanese companies have reported suffering damage during the anti-China riots, with 18 factories set on fire, five of which were completely destroyed, according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The operations of about 1,100 Taiwanese enterprises in Vietnam have been suspended, it said.
The anti-Chinese protests erupted in southern Vietnam on May 13 over China’s placement of an oil rig near the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) in the South China Sea, which it, Taiwan and Vietnam all claim.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their